Practice

The Colonial Era in India — Practice

15 questions 15 min Recall + understand

Q1. Of the chapter, colonialism is best defined as the practice where
- A. Two countries voluntarily exchange goods through trade routes.
- B. One country takes control of another region, establishes settlements there, and imposes its political, economic, and cultural systems.
- C. Religious missionaries travel abroad to spread their faith peacefully.
- D. A country sends explorers to map unknown lands without settling there.
Q2. Names the European powers that established colonies across Africa, Asia and the Americas from the 15th century onwards. They were
- A. Spain, Portugal, Britain, France and the Netherlands
- B. Spain, Portugal, Russia, Italy and Germany
- C. Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and Austria
- D. Portugal, Britain, Belgium, Denmark and Norway
Q3. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived at Kappad, near Kozhikode in Kerala, in
- A. May 1492
- B. May 1498
- C. May 1510
- D. May 1560
Q4. The Portuguese captured Goa, which became the capital of their colony in India, in the year
- A. 1498
- B. 1510
- C. 1560
- D. 1612
Q5. The port town of Ullal, which Rani Abbakka I defended against repeated Portuguese attempts in the latter half of the 16th century, lies in present-day
- A. Kerala
- B. Goa
- C. Karnataka
- D. Tamil Nadu
Q6. The Portuguese established the Inquisition in Goa in 1560. It was finally abolished in
- A. 1707
- B. 1757
- C. 1812
- D. 1858
Q7. In 1741, the Dutch were decisively defeated by the forces of Travancore under King Marthanda Varma at the Battle of
- A. Plassey
- B. Buxar
- C. Colachel
- D. Wandiwash
Q8. The French established their second trading post, where they set up the French East India Company, at Pondicherry in the year
- A. 1668
- B. 1674
- C. 1742
- D. 1757
Q9. Dupleix, the French Governor-General of India from 1742 to 1754, trained Indian soldiers in European military techniques. These disciplined infantry soldiers were known as
- A. Sowars
- B. Sepoys
- C. Lascars
- D. Jagirdars
Q10. The English East India Company was granted a royal charter — giving it special powers such as raising a private army — by
- A. King James I
- B. Queen Elizabeth I
- C. Queen Victoria
- D. King Charles II
Q11. The Battle of Plassey, in which the East India Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal, took place at Palashi (Plassey) — some 150 km north of present-day Kolkata — in the year
- A. 1707
- B. 1757
- C. 1764
- D. 1857
Q12. At the Battle of Plassey (1757), Robert Clive secretly promised to install the Nawab's military commander as the new Nawab in exchange for his betrayal. The name of this commander, today a synonym for 'traitor' in India, was
- A. Tipu Sultan
- B. Siraj-ud-daulah
- C. Mir Jafar
- D. Nana Saheb
Q13. Under the Doctrine of Lapse, introduced by the East India Company in the 19th century, any princely state would be annexed if its ruler died
- A. Without paying tribute to the British
- B. Without a natural male heir
- C. Without signing a subsidiary alliance
- D. Without converting to Christianity
Q14. The ruler of which princely state was among the first to enter into a 'subsidiary alliance' with the British, in 1798?
- A. Mysore
- B. Travancore
- C. Hyderabad
- D. Jammu & Kashmir
Q15. The first great famine in Bengal under East India Company rule occurred in 1770–1772 and is estimated to have killed nearly one-third of the population, or about
- A. 1 million people
- B. 10 million people
- C. 50 million people
- D. 100 million people

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